Cut Elephant into small, bite-sized pieces. This will take approximately 2 months.
Reserve trunk to store the pieces.
Add enough gravy to cover.
Cook over a kerosene fire – about 4 weeks at 465 degrees.

Serves 3,800 people.

If more guests are expected, two more Rabbits may be added BUT do this only if necessary – most people do not like to find a hare in their stew!

________

Many years ago, when I first moved out on my own (or actually moved in with my boyfriend) my mom put together an box filled with index cards of some of my favourite recipes.

I glanced at the recipes, picking up one or two and filing them away in my memory for when I’d need them.

I’m a good cook (thanks to my mom) so I didn’t use recipes much. I rarely needed to dig through the box.

So it wasn’t until many, many years later that I found my mom’s recipe for Elephant Stew and nearly peed my pants with laughter.

I can just see my mom, at her kitchen table, writing out recipe after recipe to help out her youngest daughter. She would have been sad to see me move out but happy I was embarking on my next, great adventure.

Thanks mom, I shared your recipe in the hopes that others will be able to feed their larger dinner parties with it.

Hey all, this is a wonderful video that I found on Stephen Chapman’s ZDNet site. It’s got some really great info that you need to know if you want to capitalize on Social Media and Search Engine Optimization.

Some of the highlights for optimizing your site for Google include the following:

1 – Title Tag: Make sure that you title the page in a way that is relevant to the content on that page. So, if your writing about Social Media on your page you should have a title tag that includes the term Social Media. Seems straightforward enough right?

2 – Meta Description: If you’re using WordPress make sure to make good use of the available tagging options. You can even add the SEO pack that will allow you to doubly tag your pages and posts. Make sure your meta tags are related to both your posts and to your site description. Make sure too that you add your meta tags BEFORE you publish your page for the first time. The impact is far greater from a first publish than from updates.

3 – Keywords and Synonyms: While you want the Google (and other search engine) spiders to be able to find you, you have to be careful not to construct your post just for that purpose. If you do that, no one is going to want to read your posts. That said, grammatical rules are a little bit thinner on the web and you can be a bit more redundant than you would otherwise be. Be sure to always go back through your posts and find ways to reiterate your point so as to be found by spiders but not lose your readers.

4 – URL: It’s a pretty good rule of thumb to use a URL that relates to your site’s subject. My site is called Social Media Canada so my URL is socialmedia-canada.com. Spiders love this. Whenever someone searches for “social media canada” they find me pretty quickly. (I love this too 🙂

As a Social Media Marketer I consider it my role to educate as many people as possible on those trends that illustrate the power of social media to expand your business.

To that end, I am always reading and learning new stuff. Stuff that is cool and wondrous and sometimes down right inspired. (but not always)

Today, rather than regale you with another of my diatribes on why specific companies DON’T get the point with social media I am going to send you on over to Mashable to check out 5 big companies that really do GET IT.

Unless you’ve been hibernating under a rock for the last year you’ve at least hear about Social Media marketing.

Using sites like Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Youtube, Stumble Upon…I could go on and on here…to connect with others is the core of Social Media. Using them to increase exposure for your business, charity, rock band, whatever, is Social Media marketing.

The difference is subtle but it’s worth noting. When you’re using Social Media as a marketing tool it’s unlikely that anyone will be interested in what you had for breakfast as a Twitter post. If I’m following you on Twitter and the only content you’re providing is your opinion of the outfit worn by Rachel on Glee this week, you can bet I’ll be dropping you pretty quick.

While Social Media is not particularly discerning in who it attracts, the marketing aspect is. Twitter is a great example of how “who” is much more important than “how many”. The great benefit for sites like Twitter and Linked In is that they allow you to target your market. In fact, industry vernacular would suggest that you can “laser” target the people or businesses that will, most-likely, be interested in what you’re selling.

So, who’s gaining the most from Social Media marketing? Definitely small companies or sole proprietorships who do not have an large marketing budget. Since marketing through Social Media is considerably more cost-effective (when done well) than traditional marketing methods, those willing to embrace new technology and engage their audience are seeing the greatest results.

Outside the box, to use an overdone cliche, thinking is necessary to set one company apart though. Simply posting content isn’t going to cut it in this age when everyone is starting to see what a great Social Media marketing campaign can do for them.

It actually reminds me of a great story. In 1985 a 46 year old, below the knee amputee, Tom Whittaker, wanted to mount an Everest Expedition. He needed a sponsor. The usual type of sponsors, North Face, Patagonia, etc were already full-up-to-their-ears with climbers. So Tom approached a completely unlikely company, Bausch and Lomb. Until that relationship was established, no one thought about a eyewear company as an expedition sponsor. Now it’s done all the time.

Thinking about the business relationships that will be mutually beneficial takes some time and consideration but when it’s done well, it can see you sitting at the top of the world! (see what I did there? I hearkened back to the whole Everest thing 🙂

Have you ever been on the phone, endlessly, with a customer service rep who is just so, so, so…negative?

Of course you have. In this day in age you’d have to be living in a mountain shack with no electricity, let alone wifi, to not have had such an experience.

If you live in Canada, particularly BC, and you own a cel phone you’ll know about Rogers and Telus. There’s a big rivalry here between these 2 giant cellular providers. People become loyal to one or the other and will go on and on about why theirs is better.

I get it, customer loyalty is a good thing. In fact, without it companies find themselves with declining sales and morale.

That’s why I have, over the last 3 years, been consistently amazed at the horrible service I have received at the Tsawwassen Rogers Mobility outlet. Now, to be clear, these outlets are not owned by Rogers despite the crazy amount of branding inside and out. They run independently of the parent company and, as such, do not seem to be at all culpable for their behaviour.

I would consider this a win/win for Rogers. A. they get their names branded all over the place and B. they don’t have to accept any sort of responsibility for dreadful store owners or employees.

Years ago I was a Rogers customer. At the end of my term I went into the Tsawwassen store to get on a new 3 year plan and get a Blackberry. Even though the BB Pearl was free with my service plan I opted not to take on their package.

Why?

They were rude. Really rude. So rude, in fact, that I was actually appalled and sent off a missive to Rogers. (fat lotta good that did)

Unfortunately the company I worked for had a friends and family deal through Rogers and I had, previous to the end of my contract, signed my daughter up for a phone. I say “unfortunately” because it meant that even though I had terminated my own relationship with Rogers I still had to deal with hers.

Let’s skip ahead a bit. I am now a loyal Telus customer. The people at the Telus place in Tsawwassen (they own one in Ladner too) are amazing! I love them. They have fixed every issue with a smile and have always been friendly and courteous. And these people are young women! Not older men who should know how to behave.

October 2010 marked the end of my daughter’s 3 year Rogers imprisonment. Yesterday I went in to the store to cancel her account and find out why her $35/mo cel phone was billed at $122. I told the man, Michael, that I would be cancelling the account.

“Here’s the number for Rogers. You’ll have to call them from your land-line.” Apparently Michael wasn’t listening at all because I did mention that it was my daughter’s phone I’d be cancelling but I let that slide. (I could always call from the phone in my hand Michael. Or, better yet, since it takes 30 days to cancel I could probably use the cel phone too.)

I said “thanks” and “could you explain to me why her $35 bill is $122 when we just paid $100 last month please?”

To which he responded…are you ready…this is great (but not the best thing he said by far) “very briefly I can” A comment which I took to mean “I have no time for you because I’m too busy sitting her looking busy and important when really I’m just thinking about getting you out of my store as fast as possible.”

So, at this point I’d been at this store several times with horrendous customer service and I’d had it. I said “wow, you know what? I have never had good customer service in here.” (please keep in mind that I think that Michael is the owner of the franchise so you’d think this is info he’d want to know.)

And now, my loyal readers, is the pièce de résistance. He replied “Then perhaps you should stop coming in then.”

Ah Rogers, I’m so sorry that you have someone like Michael as the face of your company in Tsawwassen. I posted my experience on Facebook and received no fewer than 6 comments from others with similar experiences.

Social media is all the rage for more than just online businesses: traditional “brick and mortar” businesses like yours are using it too. One of the most famous cases of this is the way Starbucks has leveraged social networking to become one of the highest valued brands in the world, so why can’t you do it too? Twitter, Facebook, Google Places, Google Buzz, Foursquare, and other social networking venues work to engage local customers, drive your popularity and increase your sales.

10 ways offline businesses can use social media.

1. A quality presence counts: Don’t just throw up a Facebook profile or a Google Places page and let it sit: reply to comments, post interesting content, and pursue friends. Update your status regularly and give your business a positive online reputation.

2. Social gaming: Create a unique game that encourages people to build zany skills using your product (or tools that is related to your product). Use YouTube videos to promote your game and have people compete using their skills at your place of business.

3. Promote your social integration: Ask people to follow your business on Twitter or to “like” it on Facebook. Put it on your receipts, invoices, and signs to get your current customer base on board to build momentum. Ask people to check in to Foursquare when they arrive at your location.

4. Put your whole company to work: If your business employs people besides you, give them all time during the day to post social networking updates. This gets your whole team involved in the marketing effort while increasing the exposure of your business in the social world.

5. Find out what your competitors are doing: The amount of involvement your company has in social media may vary depending on the nature of your business. Don’t ever fall behind what others in your sector are doing, so keep tabs on them and then compete for online prominence.

6. Follow the lifecycle: Don’t let your Facebook campaign get in a rut: social marketing has a lifecycle that you should follow. Listen to what customers are saying about your market and products, engage those customers with appealing content and promotions, and then analyze your results. Focus on your most successful efforts. Identify the promotions and content that are most successful and build on them. When you can prove that an initiative isn’t working, stop it and try something else.

7. Build a sense of community: Both online and offline you can work to make your customers feel like a special family or a close network of friends. Do this by hosting community events at your physical store and online. Help promote your city or community together with your business to help people feel like they belong at your store.

8. Don’t spread yourself too thin: If you have limited resources, you may have trouble maintaining an exciting presence on every single social media platform. Choose the number and types of sites you can manage well rather than risk leaving stale or poor quality content everywhere.

9. Manage your reputation: Do you know what customers or potential customers are saying about your business, your products, your brand, and your employees online? Pay attention to the comments you receive on Facebook, keep a Twitter search running for key names, products, and service that relate to your business. Set up Google Alerts, and handle problems and complaints head on. What a great opportunity to show the world your willingness to engage people to resolve their problems and address their concerns!

10. Be patient: As social media starts to mature, instant success will become rarer. Don’t let that bother you. Keep up a fresh, dynamic, and engaging social presence and you will reap rewards.

These 10 ways offline businesses can use social media will help brick and mortar businesses build a strong social and physical presence in both their online and offline communities. Start working on yours today.

James Adams currently writes at Office Kitten, a leading specialist in the supply of office furniture for UK based businesses.

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This client needed a site that integrated with online travel agents and merged calendars for guest bookings. While the design is simple and elegant, the backend is very robust. I added an additional solution to give hotel staff on the ground the ability to take bookings over the phone or in person without sacrificing the calendar sync.

This site was created to compliment North and West Vancouver Realtor, Elizabeth Dyer's, growing real estate business. Liz felt that providing people with real experiences from the North Shore would help them get a true feel for what it's like to live in this amazing place. The site is growing daily with new posts and new tech like vlog posts!

I created this site for my daughter Layne who is just about to graduate high school. We worked on it together as a tool to help her realize her dream of becoming an Interior Designer. The site is used for post-secondary admissions and scholarship opportunities. It also showcases many of Layne's extra curricular activities.

Jacquie McCarnan is the National Director of Social Media and Online Outreach for the Women In Leadership Foundation. She is also "keeper of the brand". With chapters in 4 Canadian cities, the WIL online presence is an extremely intricate part of the Foundation's overall community outreach.
We conceived and built individual sites for each chapter, trained each chapter rep and provide continued support through the national head office site.
By giving the chapters some autonomy to construct their own content we have seen a considerable increase in online engagement; not only from the website(s) but from all social media outlets as well.
We also initiated, planned and constructed processes to make the social media engagement a turn-key solution for each chapter since all chapter members are volunteers.
In less than a year WIL has become the most robust online presence of all Canadian women-centric non-profits. (big round of applause :)

“I started Social Media Canada in 2008 to help others realize the power of Social Media to affect change. Since then so much has changed. Social Media is now used to inform, to condemn, to inspire, to do just about anything. There's a lot to know and I'm here to help you learn!”